Thursday, August 6, 2009

Winter in Summer blog candy

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Today is the day you can pick up new Fall and Winter stamp sets from Our Craft Lounge! To celebrate I get to play along in the OCL Blog Hop. Check out a list to find all the other new releases at the new OCL blog.

I get to share a set I drew called "Sea-sons Greetings". This is a fun Christmas set featuring the cute and popular Bubbles the Sea-Turtle who first appeared in the ocean during OCL's Summer release.

Making a muted background

My artwork today needs to be soft and muted since I don't want it to pop out too much, so I am going to be working exclusively with light colors, or colors that end in a 0, 1, 2, or 3.

I stamped my background using the long sea floor from the original Bubbles set, using Memento London Fog ink on Neenah Classic Crest Solar white cardstock. I masked off the area for the Christmas tree so it would fit into the sea floor better, and stamped the little fishes to decorate it.

I am going to be layering this artwork under vellum as a soft background, so I want all my colors to be pale and muted (which is why I used gray ink). I colored the water with BG10 and faded it out with the colorless blender, then I colored the sand with YR31, Y00, and Y000 then faded it out as well. Notice that I wasn't too careful about avoiding the seaweed or stars, since those will be colored later, and the bue and yellow were so pale that even if I colored where I shouldn't it will be easy to clean up with the colorless blender.

You can see from the second step that the green seaweed looks just fine layered over the blue from the water, and when I color the sea-stars they will be orange, so yellow won't mess those up.

Here is my final background. The little fish were colored with YR02 and Y00, then dotted with YR02. Again, I used very light colors because the background is not as important as the main image I'm going to make for the front of the card. I dotted on some E31 to give more life to the sand. I added R22 and faded it out with the colorless blender anywhere that I wanted to give the illusion of red without overpowering you. Then I cropped the background around the seahorse and matted it onto the green paper (I picked my green colors to match this paper).

Here on my final card you can see how the soft background under vellum is very muted and not overpowering, yet it is still easy to see. I was tempted to color my vellum blue to remind you of water, but I really liked the color scheme as it was, so I left it alone.

The green ribbon was originally white, but I colored it with YG63 so it would match my paper and colored areas. I wrote a sentiment on the inside with a 0.1 mm multiliner which reads "sweetest winter fishes...from my pond to yours!"

Tomorrow I'll post a tutorial on coloring the cute little Bubbles the Sea-Turtle that you see on the front. For now, let's move on to the fun part...

Do you think little Bubbles is cute?

Do you wonder how Bubbles came to own such a nice striped scarf and fluffy hat?

Do you have no problem with the improbability of a sea turtle sucking on candy-canes underwater?

Want to win him???

Leave a comment on today's post. Winners will be chosen on Sunday. One lucky person will win this very stamp set, . . and . . . I'll throw in a few of the new Atyou Spica glitter pens to sweeten the deal.

What are you waiting for? Leave a comment and your contact info! Then go visit the other names on the blog hop for Our Craft Lounge. Be sure to come back tomorrow and check out the directions for coloring cute little Bubbles. Good luck winning and have fun coloring!

The 'Bubbles' card is awesome; the 'muted under vellum' look is super cute, and not something I would have ever thought to do. The stamp set is super cute, too - I would love to have a sea turtle with a scarf, santa hat, and his very own candy cane! :)

Bubbles is adorable, and any girl would be lucky to have more of him in her stash of stamps. Who would have guessed a Christmas turtle and friends? Great blog BTW! This is the first place I turn to when I pull out my Copics. Michellejmhoger@mts.net

Oh how cute is this? My entire family lives in Flordia, remind me again why I stayed in Michigan???? anywho ,this would be the perfect set to use on my Christmas cards for my sun lovin relatives.Hope I win and I learn something everyday on this site.Thank you, Beth

You do such an amazing job with these Copics. THANK YOU so much for doing the tutorials, I'd be lost without them. I'm new to the stamping and coloring world, and I LOVE LOVE your blog!! The Christmas Fishies stamp set is so cute!

Ok, I am a sucker for turtles and frogs. I love to color them and I love to put them on cards.....Thanks so much for all the tutorials - I am learning a lot and it makes using my Copics more enjoyable.

With 151 comments so far I wonder if you will read this ...but just wondering if you can put your videos up on something other than U Tube. I am assuming that is what you used as those of us in Turkey (who knows where else) have U Tube blocked so we can't see it. Apparently the gov't didn't like something posted so decided none of us should see anything....

"fin"tastic :) I love learning more and more about my markers with every post you publish and today is no exception! Thanks for making learning fun! Please enter me into the drawing for this fun Christmas set! ednkaryn @ gmail .com

Droools, it is so Darn cute! I love your tutorials Marianne. They are the best, thanks for a chance to win, xox ~Jeni jenislack@yahoo.com By the way , where can I buy the fairy stamp that was shown in your picture where you had colored with copics? Thanks!

Love, love all your artwork, this is so, so cute! I wish I could attend one of your classes, I have learned so much from your blog! TFS so freely! keeping me fingers crossed to win! as I love anything under the sea! Hugs always!

About Me

I am the North American Product Director for Copic Markers, working at Imagination International, Inc. I have written 4 books on coloring with Copics in conjunction with Colleen Schaan. I used to design stamps for Our Craft Lounge. The things I post on this blog are my personal opinions or techniques I have come across over the years- I will try to give credit where credit is due. These ramblings do not necessarily reflect the general opinions of Copic Markers/Imagination International Inc.
my direct e-mail is marianne@copicmarker.com

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Copic Glossary

ABS/Airbrush System- Copic Airbrush System. Works with either a compressor or Copic aircans. Uses either Sketch or Copic Markers. 1234TroubleshootingAlcohol Markers- Copic markers are alcohol (ethanol) based dye markers, that are known for being low-odor and giving smooth, vibrant colors. Since they are a dye, they will fade in bright lights, but they are acid free on most surfaces. Anything with alcohol in it will react with these inks. Any Copic marker type is refillable with replaceable tips. They will not cause paper to pill when going over it many times, nor will they dissolve photocopies.

Color Saturation- This is the first digit on a color name. Colors that are 00's, 10's, or 20's will be more vibrant (B05, G16, R29), while colors that are in the 70's, 80's or 90's have more gray added (B95, BG78, G94) and are closer to the neutral/earthy end of the color spectrum. Note: E (Earth) markers don't necessarily follow this rule.

Color Group- A sequential group of colors within one color family with the same first digit (i.e. E30, E31, E33, E34, E35, E37, E39) where numbers ending in 0 are the lightest and 9 is the darkest, also called Natural Blending Group

Copic Certification- These are classes for teachers, store owners, or designers who want to learn techniques and advanced tips on using Copic markers, Airbrushing, etc. for papercrafting. Each class is about 7 hrs, and will be held regionally. Check here for listings of upcoming classes.

Spica Glitter Pens - also called atyou Spica pens. These fun, pigment based pens are filled with micro glass flakes, giving a very subtle, elegant sparkle. Keep stored flat, though if they are giving you troubles, try storing them point down overnite.

Various Ink- Also called Refill Ink or Re-inkers. Each bottle holds 25 cc's of ink. 322 colors available, empty bottle for mixing custom colors also available. Great for making alcohol ink effects, such as Faux Stone or covering large areas. When you see streaking in your work it's time to refill. You can refill directly from your bottle of ink, or you can use a booster needle. Try not to overfill.For refilling dry markers:Ciao- add 1 to 1.5 cc's ink Sketch- 2 cc's Copic 2-3 cc's Wide 3-4 cc's

Using this site for Classes

The content from each post is intended as tutorials and directions as well as useful information. If you would like to use these tutorials in a workshop you are more than welcome to, just give credit to this blog site and other suppliers mentioned in each post.

Thank You!

Marianne

Color Disclaimer

Colors on the screen do not match colors printed in color charts, and neither will match the marker colors in real life. To get a feel of what the colors will look like it's best if you get an actual color swatch.

To request a printed color chart, general catalog, Stamping with Copic Brochure, or Airbrushing with Copic Brochure you can e-mail orders@copicmarker.com (remember, printed charts aren't accurate)

Save a tree, get it digital!For digital copies of the above brochures please look through the Copic Library. Don't see what you need? e-mail me at marianne@copicmarker.com

Check the library also for refilling guides, airbrushing set-ups, and other useful literature.

Copic Fine Art Instructors

Click here to purchase your favorite Copic Products

Books by Marianne Walker

Shadows & Shading: A beginner's guide to lighting placementThis book is for teaching you where to accurately put shadows and highlights when coloring with any medium. Includes clear lighting guides to help you plan where to place your shadows & highlights. Distributed by Copic/Imagination International, Inc.

Copic Coloring GuideWritten by Colleen Schaan & Marianne Walker. This is a beginner book for those interested in papercrafting and learning basic techniques for using Copic Markers. Published by Annie's Attic/DRG

Copic Coloring Guide Level 2: NatureWritten by Colleen Schaan & Marianne Walker. This is is the second in the series. Learn techniques for coloring things in nature. For papercrafters. Published by Annie's Attic/DRG

Copic Coloring Guide Level 3: PeopleWritten by Colleen Schaan & Marianne Walker. This is is the third in the series. Learn techniques for coloring people, hair, and clothing. For papercrafters. Published by Annie's Publishing

Check your local store for these books, otherwise they are available at many popular online retailers.